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September 10th: The Past's View
of the Future
Announcements
Retro Sci Fi: What they thought of today and beyond
Each of the short stories for today is about the Past's view of the Future: The authors project their time period into a future setting to comment on their own time period and (sometimes) to make a case for a possible outcome if society continues down a particular path. As you read, there are some far-fetched ideas about what humans will do in the future. Both R. A. Lafferty and Harlan Ellison have rather absurd visions of the future. Absurd situations, settings, characters, and events are part of the Sci Fi subgenre, and you'll read about many absurd situations in next week's reading: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979).
Before we get into Lafferty's and Ellison's short stories (both from 1965), let's consider E. M. Forster's dystopian vision in "The Machine Stops" (1909). Who else published a future-oriented piece that year?
E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops" (1909)
This story centers around two characters--Vashti and her son, Kuno. They live in hive-like structures underground and on opposite sides of the Earth from each other. As we've read in other texts, in this future, humans don't need to struggle because everything is provided for them by The Machine. What isn't too clear is whether or not the Machine is an AI or if the Central Committee programs the Machine to carry out its functions--making sure the citizens are comfortable...a little too comfortable. Nearly all interaction is mediated by technology:
- A Skype-like technology
- Tubes for communicating
- Music playing
- Listening to lectures...all in the privacy of your honeycomb!
This story presents the opposite of a utopia (where technology leads us to paradise): What's called a dystopia (technology leads us to...not paradise). Throughout the short story, Forster comments on the ways in which technologies are contrary to human needs. This brings up a concern that exists today where people think there needs to be humanistic values inherent in technological development. Simply put, a humanistic approach calls for technologies to fit in (seamlessly, perhaps) with human behaviors, practices, and values. Humanists (those advocating this approach) claim that technology is too often created contrary to humans values and, therefore, requires users to adapt to the technology. A somewhat related field to humanistic goals for technology is HCI: human computer interaction studies.
Although many interpretations are possible with this short story, consider the following as a way to think critically about the text's meanings:
- The Machine is simply a Matrix-like or Borg Collective system for ordering human lives, and many technologies, such as infrastructure technologies (stoplights, medians, automatic doors, etc.), control humans and keep things running smoothly.
- The Machine is a metaphor for the ways we're programmed in a culture and forced to adapt to social norms by nearly constant messages from agents of social control, such as the media, government, education, social praise/stigma, etc.
For the next few minutes, I'd like you to consider the two interpretations above. What are the ways we're controlled by the technologies around us? Take notes because your Thursday (9/12) prompt is going to be based on this discussion. Also, because you'll have your Test on Thursday, you'll have until midnight Friday (9/13) to post to the prompt.
Additional Key Parts of "The Machine Stops" (1909).
Those of you who've read Aldus Huxley's Brave New World (1931) might remember a peculiar phrase the characters used: "my Ford!". This is a reference to Henry Ford (one of the major inventors of the automobile and, more importantly, the assembly line) that parallels the expression, "My god!" or "My word!" On p. 61 (and elsewhere), we read Vashti say something is "perfectly mechanical." What could be a parallel expression for us?
Of course, Science Fiction doesn't have to predict the future to be valuable, but Forster is certainly ahead of his time when he uses the (assumed) progress of technology to be a factor in humans' being unfit for strenuous activities. Take a look at this link from the Harvard School of Public Health (scroll down to "Advancing Technology, Declining Physical Activity").
R. A. Lafferty "Slow Tuesday Night" (1965)
Well, this is certainly a weird story. Weird might be an understatement, but, remember, we still have Ellison's "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" (1965) (and don't forget The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [1979]). I just saw a rerun of Family Guy, which made me think of this story. Most half-hour shows (e.g., sitcoms) have to quickly get to a resolution, so the writers employ far fetched solutions in order to resolve whatever is imbalanced in the show. Laffarty's story is based on the fact that humans in this projected world make decisions very quickly. This causes the pace of life to speed up to the point where fashion, popularity, and careers are watched with the same immediacy as the stock market--moment by moment. The situation Lafferty creates is an exaggeration, but it's an exaggeration based on a value he picks up from his time period--instant gratification. Although our time period doesn't have quite the capriciousness of Lafferty's, we value things instantly. The Anthology editors suggest that the story asks readers whether or not "any aspect of human life is truly consequential or enduring" (p. 360). Reflecting upon that might unnerve us...
Below are some important topics that may help us identify key attributes of this short story that make it an important work of science fiction:
- Marriage, or, the 35-minute date (btw, it takes an entire year to get divorced in NC)
- Reproduction of typical narratives: rise and fall of fortunes
- Business Cycles, Recessions, and Market Bubbles
- Writing Philosophy (p. 362)
- Celebrity status
What are some fads or fashions that seem to go in and out of style so quickly that if you blink, you might miss them?
Harlan Ellison "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" (1965)
Avant-garde science fiction: experimenting new ways, ideas, texts, etc. that advance science fiction. What's new? F. T. Marinetti is an avant-garde artist, and he wanted no connection to the past (quite a difficult aesthetic goal). Ellison and Lafferty aren't as extreme, but they experimented with absurdity. Then again, how absurd are their visions?
As the Anthology editors mention, Ellison was satirizing the cultural conformity he witnessed--a common complaint of the 1950s and early 1960s before the counterculture, student, and anti-war movements attempted to revolt against the establishment. He quotes the famous American author Henry David Thoreau, who is best known for bringing the idea of "civil disobedience" to America consciousness (circa 1849). Ellison provides a long quotation from "Civil Disobedience," so here's the first line:
"The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the militia, jailers, constables, posse comitatus, etc." (Part 1, para. 5)
Man...machines...could he be a sci fi writer? No, but the idea of humans becoming machines is a common scie fi theme. Why?
Here are some more details about Ellison's text.
Test 1 on Thursday (9/12)
You have your first test on Thursday (9/12)! It will open at 8:00 am and should only take 30 minutes, but you have 75 minutes (basically, an entire class meeting). You won't come to class to take it because it'll be on Moodle2.
Make sure you have reliable access to a computer
with an Internet connection. If there are non-Moddle2 related
issues, there won't be any extensions. For instance, "there's no wifi in my building," "my laptop crashed," "my dog chewed the ethernet cable," etc. You have plenty of time to find a place with reliable Internet access. However, choose wisely because once you start the Test, you can't go back to it on another computer--you can't log back in. If you have issues, you can't expect me to be available to solve them immediately. Also, after 5pm, you're definitely on your own, so I suggest doing the Test earlier. If using Moodle2 proves to be too onerous, we'll switch to a different system.
The Test is closed book, closed note, closed partner, closed Internet (except, of course, loging onto Moodle2). Obviously, I can't possibly watch every single one of you. However, if you spend time going through notes, the readings, the class Web site, or talking with another person, you'll most likely run out of time. For more information about Academic Integrity policy for UNCC Students, go to http://integrity.uncc.edu/.
Next
Class
Because you'll have your Test on Thursday, you'll have until midnight Friday (9/13) to post to this week's prompt to Moodle2.
For
Tuesday (9/17), keep up with the syllabus and have read most (preferably, all) of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979). Remember, the syllabus has all the readings and dates for the reading, so it's up to you to budget your time wisely and read the material for this course. Also, believe me, the movie is a poor substitute.
There's another home football game this weekend...
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Aaron
A. Toscano's Homepage
